


Basketball and Bad Decisions

by JKRawlings



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Basketball, Buffy let’s her guard down, Competition, F/M, Jonah goes too far, Jonah is a player, Jonah is oblivious, Lust, Mistakes, Muffy - Freeform, Teasing, Tyrus - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:48:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23324230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JKRawlings/pseuds/JKRawlings
Summary: Buffy loved her boyfriend, Marty. They had been together for over 4 years, making it official on the night of Andi’s 8th grade farewell/middle school graduation party. Funny enough, they met at one of Andi’s insane house parties, hitting it off immediately with some witty banter at the snack table. That was something that Buffy loved about her boyfriend, the way that they could seamlessly jab at each other playfully and balance out the qualities of a loving relationship. But the longer that they were together, Buffy began to wonder; ‘how far was too far?’Buffy would never deliberately go out of her way to offend her boyfriend, but her curiosity and competitive nature had her mind reeling the possibility of pushing it over the edge with the boy. But alas, she would never dare to actually try and find out. Marty was too good for her, and pushing someone to their wits end purposely would forever make her a bad person. And with a tightly knit moral code, that was a big no-no for Buffy.Or so she thought.
Relationships: Buffy Driscoll/Marty, Cyrus Goodman/T. J. Kippen, Jonah Beck/Buffy Driscoll
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

Buffy Driscoll; the strong, athletic, mixed-race girl, was known for her fierce and triumphant attitude. She never lost, or so she thought. Who could blame her? She held herself to higher standards than most, border lining on a perfectionist. Being a military child, her mother being deployed for most of her childhood, Buffy, time and time again, felt the need to uphold the promise of being a strong, independent, and successful girl.

Now she was a junior Grant High School, she had a handsome and caring boyfriend, Marty, and she was captain of the Girls Basketball Team, the Blades. Academically, Buffy was a star student, being enrolled in all AP classes, and passing the SAT with flying colors. She even had committed herself to Ohio State earlier that year to play basketball in the NCAA Women’s Division. All was going well for her, and throughout her high school career, she kept her strong-willed and persistent attitude.

Buffy loved her boyfriend, Marty. They had been together for over 4 years, making it official on the night of Andi’s 8th grade farewell/middle school graduation party. Funny enough, they met at one of Andi’s insane house parties, hitting it off immediately with some witty banter at the snack table. That was something that Buffy loved about her boyfriend, the way that they could seamlessly jab at each other playfully and balance out the qualities of a loving relationship. But the longer that they were together, Buffy began to wonder; _‘how far was too far?’_

Buffy would never deliberately go out of her way to offend her boyfriend, but her curiosity and competitive nature had her mind reeling the possibility of pushing it over the edge with the boy. But alas, she would never dare to actually try and find out. Marty was too good for her, and pushing someone to their wits end purposely would forever make her a bad person. And with a tightly knit moral code, that was a big no-no for Buffy.

_Or so she thought._

••

It was a regular day at Grant. Buffy had fallen into a routine of going through each class with an open notebook and an open mind, her fascination with school subjects being a potential point of ridicule from her close friends, not that she would ever let them make fun of her studiousness. After her morning classes, her group would gather at their table in the cafeteria and immediately huddle around her phone, which was already in the process of ringing Andi for a video call.

After the group’s daily check-in with Andi at SAVA,Marty would get up and grab her extra napkins, Cyrus and TJ would display more affection than the group could handle, and Jonah would seem to learn a brand new concept. Then everyone would pack up their lunch bags or hand in their trays, and embark on their second set of classes. Luckily enough, Buffy shared all of her afternoon classes with Marty, so they would talk, and walk hand-in-hand together to their remaining periods.

After all of her afternoon learning, Buffy would go straight to the school’s gymnasium and begin to setup for the Girls Basketball Practice. Considering it was early March, the season would be coming to a close in the coming weeks, which made Buffy slightly sad, especially because they lost their opportunity to play in States. But regardless, Buffy was a finisher, and she wanted to end her season with a bang.

During practice, Cyrus would occasionally wander in and prop himself up on the empty bleachers to cheer on the team or do homework. Sometimes they would go to the Spoon afterwards and split a basket of Baby Taters. Other times, Cyrus would be occupied with TJ’s practice and cheering him on. Buffy and TJ seemingly shared Cyrus for support, something that made the boy feel special and wanted.

With the winter months coming to a close in Utah, Buffy would sometimes opt out of a ride home from her father in order to walk home in the fresh air. But with it being Utah, the possibility of a freak snowstorm or cold front was always looming. It didn’t matter though, Buffy was always up for a challenge.

••

Today was a Thursday, so today Buffy’s practice ran later than usual, letting out at about sunset. With it being a relatively warm day that day, Buffy chose to walk home.

“Nice hustle Kaitlin!” Buffy said, clapping the girl on the back. “Keep working on that jumper, Lauren.” Buffy made a hooking motion with her right arm to symbolize a jump shot. “Next practice, I want to try you as a Forward, Allison.” the girl nodded in response to Buffy while taking a big swig out of her water bottle. “Good practice girls! See you Saturday at the game against the Panthers. Go Blades!” Buffy said as the last of the girls entered the locker room.

Buffy exhaled deeply as she dragged the bag of basketballs into the gym’s supply closet. Next she gathered up all the little cones from the drills she ran with her team. And finally, she closed up and locked the closet doors, shutting off the gymnasium lights as she entered the locker room herself.

By the time she was finished with cleaning up after practice, all the girls had already left to go home, which left Buffy time to grab a quick shower in complete privacy. After drying herself off, she changed into her sweatpants and hoodie, and put her, still damp, hair into a messy bun. After closing the doors to the girls locker room, duffel bag slung over her shoulder, Buffy headed for the custodian’s break room to notify them that practice was over. After that she was home-free.

By the time she walked out of the school, the sun had already set, and the chill of the nighttime air began to sting her cheeks slightly, but Buffy pressed on. She enjoyed taking in the scenic nature of walking home, often times she would pass Shadyside Park in order to take in the way that the moonlight casted shadows of the tree branches onto the clear and open grass field.

As Buffy walked along the sidewalk, her gaze casted upon the beauty of the still, serene, and mesmerizing scenery, she came to a sudden halt. She could faintly hear the sound of music playing in the distance. With her curiosity piqued, she made her way off of the sidewalk and onto the field. As she crossed the field, the music got louder, and when she peeked around the tree line, she could see its source.

Just ahead of her was a boy shooting around on the basketball court, which was illuminated by two stadium lights at each end. Buffy decided to get closer, practically tip-toeing up to the concrete border of the court. She found herself taking a seat on one of the court-side benches, setting her duffel bag down on the concrete, and observing the boy. The boy effortlessly sank three after three, dribbling around and driving the paint for the occasional layup. His ball handling skills were impressive, and she found herself biting her lip whenever the boy would let out a quiet grunt when shooting the ball.

Buffy was absolutely entranced by this boy, watching him fix his hair slightly when he would rebound the ball, and then the sudden realization that he was shirtless had Buffy turning to stone, unable to leave. Eventually the boy set down the basketball and pulled out his phone from the pocket of his athletic shorts. He then turned around and started to approach Buffy, his vision still fixed on his phone screen. Buffy began to mentally panic, fearing that she would be caught spying on this mysterious basketball boy, but her legs wouldn’t respond. She was stuck, frozen, her expression resembling that of a deer in headlights.

The boy approached the nearby bench, grabbing a water bottle from his drawstring bag, and tilting his head back to take a large gulp. After his drink, he capped his bottle, and Buffy could hear his heavy panting. And then they locked eyes. Warning bells were going off in Buffy’s head as she was still glued to the bench. But then she recognized who he was.

“Jonah?” Buffy gasped in surprise. She couldn’t believe it. Jonah Beck was the sexy yet mysterious basketball boy.

“Buffy!” Jonah exclaimed, nearly dropping his phone.

“I- I didn’t know you played.” Buffy stated, standing up, her legs finally freeing her from the bench.

“Yeah- uh- I’ve- um- always liked basketball.” Jonah’s expression matched that of Buffy’s; pure shock. His cheeks began to heat up at the realization that he was talking to one of his best friends without his shirt on.

Buffy quickly took note as well. She was at a complete loss for words. She kept eyeing Jonah’s built pecs, and slightly toned abs. Not to mention his thick biceps. She couldn’t keep her eyes from roaming the sight of Jonah in this state.

After two minutes of awkward staring, Jonah finally paused the music coming from his Bluetooth speaker, which only added to the silence that neither one of them refused to break.

“We- uh- could use- um- your talent on the- uh Blades.”Buffy finally stuttered. This was true to an extent, knowing very well that she was the only person on her team that could seamlessly drain three pointers like that.

“I uh- would, but I-I’m not a girl.” Jonah let out a nervous chuckle. His blush intensified as he watched Buffy’s dark brown eyes seemingly explore every inch of his body.

Buffy couldn’t help but notice the way that the beads of sweat shimmered across Jonah’s body, under the bright lights of court. Her eyes followed as one rolled down his defined chest all the way to the hem of his boxers.

“Hanes...” Buffy muttered subconsciously. She immediately gasped as she realized that was said out loud.

“What?” Jonah nervously chuckled once again.

“I-I mean th-that is the b-brand that all the h-hot InstaPic b-boys w-wear.” Buffy stammered, cursing herself mentally. She never would’ve expected her toughness and strong-will to crumble in the midst of ‘ _Mr. Docious Magocious_.’ Part of her felt disgusted that she was even intrigued by Frisbee Boy.

“I- uh- guess they have um-... good taste.” Jonah responded, in complete awe that he could have _The Slayer_ melt like this at his fingertips. Then his gaze drifted down to her hips. His lustful instinct then guided him to the rear of her sweatpants.

“Yeah they do...” Buffy breathed out, still taking in every inch of Jonah’s exposed chest. She then blinked twice, temporarily breaking herself from the trance. A devilish grin creeped across her face as she ran for the basketball laying in the middle of the court. In an attempt to break the tension and to distract herself further, she scooped up the ball and began to dribble. She then drove to the basket and plopped in a simple layup.

“C’mon Driscoll, is that all you got?” Jonah smirked, catching onto the idea that Buffy was asking for a challenge.

“Maybe? Let’s see if you’re all talk.” Buffy said, bounce-passing the ball to Jonah.

“You know I’m not.” Jonah giggled. “You were spying on me for like the last 20 minutes. You saw those threes.” Jonah said, bouncing the ball between his legs and behind his back.

“That’s not true and if so, then what’s another one?” Buffy pressed, raising an eyebrow and shooting the boy a devious smirk.

“As you wish.” Jonah teased, taking a step back and shooting the ball straight through the hoop. The only thing that could be heard was the ‘swoosh’ sound that the ball made when going through the net.

“You’re on Beck!” Buffy exclaimed, rebounding the ball and dribbling out to the half-court line and shooting it. The ball bounced slightly off of the backboard before falling right through the rim. “That was _docious magocious_.” Buffy cheered in a mocking expression, causing Jonah to furrow his eyebrows in annoyance.

Jonah rebounded the ball dribbling around the court before slowly circling Buffy. “Tease me all you want, but I saw the way you were drooling over me Driscoll.” Jonah purred, lust hanging off of each word.

Buffy was once again caught under his spell, which left her speechless. This time her eyes roaming lower than the hem of his underwear.

“Earth to Buffy?” Jonah waved his freehand in front of her face, showing off his dopey smile. Buffy didn’t respond. “I guess I out buff’d the Buff.” Jonah snorted, cracking a mischievous grin.

“Gimme that!” Buffy shouted, reaching for the ball, but Jonah quickly tossed it behind his back to his other hand and out of her reach.

“Not so fast.” Jonah teased. His eyes dropping to her waistline and observing it. Just as Buffy was surprised that Jonah could be like... _this_ , Jonah found himself equally shocked that the dark-skinned girl was _this_ attractive. And not in an insulting way, but in a ‘ _Jonah is pretty oblivious’_ way.

“What do you want Jonah?” Buffy tried her hardest to sound somewhat in control, but seeing the way the boy bite on his bottom lip, her focus was now entirely on his lips.

“What do _you_ want?” Jonah replied, his voice now low and husky. For a split second, Buffy could see the lust bubbling in his emerald green eyes.

“This.” Buffy said quickly, grabbing the boy by the back of his head and pressing their lips together. Jonah was in complete shock, caught off guard, and not expecting Buffy to be so straight forward. He then found himself leaning into the kiss, dropping the ball from his grasp and using his hands to cup her face.

The two separated for a split second before continuing, this time a lot more passionately. Buffy found herself being pushed backwards up against the pole of the hoop, but still thirsty for more. Their lips crashed together, only letting little moans escape. Buffy couldn’t help but feel her way up and down Jonah’s built torso, her nails running along the dips and curves if his muscles.

Jonah however, found himself moving his hand down to her hips, pulling her in tighter. The taste of her on his lips had the boy fiending for more. In a complete state of ecstasy, Jonah could care less that they were in the middle of a well lit court. Not that anyone would be out at the park at this hour anyways.

Buffy’s touch soon found its way down to the boy’s hips before the back of her hand grazed an emerging stiffness, causing her to immediately push Jonah off of her.

“Oh- my... I-I c-can’t” Buffy stammered. She came to the realization of what was happening and she was absolutely mortified.

“Come on Buffy.” Jonah whimpered, moving back in for another kiss, his lips bright red and glistening with a mixture of saliva and lip gloss.

“Get the fuck away from me.” Buffy shuddered, digging her nails into the boy’s chest and pushing him back with force.

The fact that she fell for Jonah Beck had her gagging, her vision blurring, and thoughts of Marty’s sad and disapproving frown flashing through her mind. Jonah was speechless, using his arm to wipe away the spit on his lips. He too was shocked that he fell for Buffy, taking a step back and taking a nervous gulp.

“I-I gotta g-get out-outta he-here.” Buffy’s lips trembled as she tried her hardest not to cry. She bolted towards the bench that her bag was by, quickly swinging it over her shoulder, and sprinting across the field.

“Buffy! Wait! I’m sorry! Buffy! Please wait! Don’t leave!” Jonah pleaded, as he watched her take off in the distance. He too was horrified, the panic beginning to set in.

Buffy ignored his pleas as she ran. She felt a light vibration in her pocket, causing her to pull out her phone as she sprinted away.

—

**Marty <3: 9:03 PM**

i thought we were gonna videocall tonight.

—

This made the tears fall from Buffy’s eyes. She tried to wipe them away with her hoodie’s sleeve as she ran, but eventually she couldn’t keep up with the rapid rate that they fell at.

Meanwhile Jonah faced a crisis of his own. He became increasingly light headed, his own vision blurring and distorting as his breath hitched. He found himself falling backwards, leaning his back against the hoop. The cold steel on his bare skin stung, but he was too busy trying to calm his breathing, with no success. He felt himself dying.

“Help!” he cried out. “Please- someone- help!” He sobbed between labored breaths.

_**To Be Continued** _


	2. ball w/o you

"Oh my gosh, Buffy! What happened sweetie?" Buffy's mom questioned as Buffy stormed in through the front door, dropping her duffel bag on the floor. "Practice ended 30 minutes ago." she said, pulling her daughter into a tight embrace.

After a couple of seconds of catching her breath, Buffy responded, "I-I got a little sidetracked."

"Sidetracked? I don't follow." her mom's expression turned from worry to confusion.

"I took the long way home that's all. Trees you know?" Buffy tried her best to be as convincing as possible, but deep down she couldn't even convince herself that the events that unfolded on the basketball court never happened.

"Mhm... Trees." her mom hummed, also unconvinced. After a quick pause, she continued, "Well, dinner is on the stove and your father and I are going to bed. Any homework?"

"I finished it at school already. Thanks mom." Buffy said while taking off down the hall towards the kitchen.

"It's a school night, so not too late." her mom called after her.

••

After dinner and a quick shower, Buffy was locked in the confines of her bedroom. She needed to talk to someone... that _wasn't_ Jonah. She couldn't handle talking to Marty at the moment, so she shot him a quick apology text, stating that practice left her drained. Her next option was Andi... but Andi had a history with Jonah, so that was also a no. She thought about talking to Cyrus, but he too was close to Jonah, so she strayed away from that decision. That left... _TJ Kippen_.

Pulling up her messaging app, Buffy sent a text to TJ asking him to talk. Fifteen minutes later, TJ hadn't even opened her text and Buffy sighed in defeat. She assumed that he was FaceChatting Cyrus, this making him not a viable option.

Seeing that it was getting late, and it was a school night, she decided to try and fall asleep. The events of that night kept replaying over and over in her mind, making it impossible for her sleep. So until it was time to get up for school the next day, Buffy chose to toss and turn in a restless state, hoping for the sun to rise soon.

••

Little did Buffy know, but TJ was out in the park searching around for Jonah, flashlight in hand. After Buffy fled, Jonah had somehow mustered up enough energy to text TJ for help. He didn't intentionally choose to text him, but his contact was the first to appear. Earlier that evening, Jonah had offered to play some one-on-one's with the basketball captain, but he was _indeed_ occupied with Cyrus related affairs. Though, after TJ received a text message from Jonah saying, ' _help_ ' and a location, he figured that this was more important.

By the time TJ reached the court, the lights had shut off completely, leaving Jonah virtually impossible to see without a flashlight. Jonah was under the hoop at the far end of the entrance, curled up in the fetal position and pale as ever. TJ sprinted over to Jonah, wrapping him up in his jacket and offering him a water bottle.

The two of them refused to speak, just holding onto each other for what felt like hours. Every so often Jonah would attempt to say something, but nothing could come out. So each time TJ hushed him, rubbing his thumb in small circles on his back.

After a few sips of water and holding each other tightly, Jonah finally spoke, "I really fucked up this time." He sat up and slipped his t-shirt over his head. "Like really bad." he mumbled.

"Whatever you did, I guarantee Andi will still forgive you." TJ comforted, completely oblivious to what actually occurred.

"It's not Andi..." Jonah sobbed, putting his head in his arms. This caused TJ to gulp nervously, knowing how close Jonah was to Cyrus.

"Who?" TJ asked quietly. Jonah didn't respond, continuing to sob silently. "Who then, Jonah?" TJ asked again, fearing the worst.

"Look TJ, I-I don't wanna talk about this right now." Jonah snapped, shooting his head up to stare straight at TJ. TJ exhaled sharply but stayed silent. "I'm sorry." Jonah mumbled, a few minutes later.

The two boys just sat on the cold concrete in silence, Jonah sniffling softly here and there. And TJ occupied with his concerns of whether or not Jonah hurt Cyrus in some way. He was begging to know, but knew better than to just keep pressing.

••

Buffy couldn't get herself to fall asleep with a guilty conscience. She knew she had to say something to Marty, he was too good for the 'cold shoulder treatment.' So she figured that at 2:15 in the morning, it was the best time to come clean.

The phone rang for a few seconds, and then a groggy Marty picked up. "Buffy- hello? I-I didn't think-"

The tears began to fall as she heard his voice, "Marty." Buffy cried softly.

"Babe what's wrong?" Marty sat up with concern, his face and bare chest now in view.

"I-I fucked up- I-I-I-" Buffy couldn't even speak, her voice shallow, weak, and broken.

"Buffy you're scaring me. What happened?" Marty was now fully awake, the alertness of his tone precise and bold.

"I-I..."

"Buffy what? Tell me baby please!" Marty had tears forming in his eyes, he hated seeing his girlfriend hysterically crying like this.

After a few more seconds of uncontrollable sobbing, Buffy managed to squeak out, "I kissed Jonah."

There was an unnerving silence as Buffy held her breath, and Marty refused to speak. The two of them stared at each other through their phones, tears falling slowly from both of their eyes.

••

TJ had managed to convince his parents to let Jonah sleepover on a school night, claiming that the situation was urgent. And seeing Jonah's condition as he stepped into their house, Mr. and Mrs. Kippen agreed that the situation was urgent. Mrs. Kippen immediately ran a hot shower, while Mr. Kippen reached out to Jonah's parents.

After a shower and changing into some of TJ's clothes, the two sat inside TJ's bedroom. Both of them were quiet, TJ unsure of what to say, and Jonah being completely exhausted. While TJ sat up against the backboard of his bed, Jonah sat on the floor, leaning against the bed. TJ could no longer fight his urge to ask what happened, so he decided to break the silence.

"Dude look, I can't just pretend that nothing happened tonight, and quite honestly I don't think you should either."

Jonah took a few seconds to respond, "You're right." he mumbled.

"So like..? What's up?"

Jonah took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, "I kissed Buffy." he dropped his head in shame.

TJ was speechless. Now he really didn't know what to say. He wanted to say, ' _You're fucking kidding, right?_ ' but he knew how insensitive that would sound. That, and Jonah was definitely not the lying type. He still couldn't wrap his head around the possibility that the somewhat hotheaded and sometimes overconfident girls basketball captain would fall for Jonah. Not to mention that Buffy's established boyfriend was Marty, a fellow teammate of his. ' _But Jonah? Seriously? Of all people..._ ' was all that TJ could think.

Hearing TJ's lack of a response, Jonah continued, "See I told you I fucked up. Now Marty is going to literally kill me" Jonah muttered, his voice low and hoarse.

"I-I don't know what to say." TJ stammered.

"Whatever dude." Jonah grumbled, laying down and facing away from TJ. He closed his eyes, hoping to put an end to this living nightmare.

••

The next day proved to be a struggle, Jonah's parents came early to pick him up and allow him to go home and grab his own clothes for school. Meanwhile, Marty told Buffy that he needed space. Surprisingly enough, news hadn’t reached innocent little Cyrus Goodman yet.

Where the group usually met before school, Cyrus had been waiting for 15 minutes all by himself. No one was responding to their texts, and Cyrus couldn’t help but feel increasingly concerned. Finally Buffy approached him, but he noticed how... terrible she looked, something that was completely off-brand for her. Next to arrive was his boyfriend, who also shared the same look of exhaustion.

“Hey guys...” Cyrus squeaked, half hoping that nobody heard him. With no response from either one of them, he decided to continue, “So... what’s up? Seems like no one got any sleep.” Once again, nothing but silence.

From around the corner, a tired Jonah was scanning the area, for reasons completely unknown to Cyrus. After he saw that the “coast was clear,” he approached the group hesitantly. “Hey Jonah!” Cyrus greeted cheerily.

And just like that, Buffy broke out into tears and stormed off into the school. “Buffy- wait- we gotta-“ Jonah tried to go after her, but was stopped by TJ’s arm.

“Teej? What’s going on?” Cyrus tried to ask, but Jonah was in the middle of a breakdown, sobbing loudly while TJ held him back. “Someone please tell me something!” Cyrus demanded, causing both boys to look over at him.

No one spoke, everyone exchanged awkward glances instead. Jonah then cleared his throat, fearing the worst; “I kissed her.”

And before Cyrus could even react, the ex-frisbee player, still athletic and nimble as ever, darted into the school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long... I haven’t had the motivation to write anything tbh. For those who care, I lost my uncle to COVID-19 and that has really taken a toll on my mindset. I hope everyone is staying safe during these tough times. Also I hope you guys enjoy this one.


	3. Understood/Different

Poor Cyrus could barely keep up with TJ, who was also struggling to maintain a line of sight on Jonah. Teachers and students alike were forced to step aside as the line of boys ran past them. Eventually Jonah came to a stop in the middle of the hallway, placing his hands on his knees and breathing heavily. TJ ran up to him shortly after, almost slamming into him. And finally came Cyrus, face flushed red, and clenching his chest tightly to avoid having an asthma attack. After a couple minutes of catching their breaths, Cyrus spoke up between labored pants.

"Wha- what... ha- happened? Who did what?"

"Jonah... you gotta stop... and calm down." TJ wheezed.

It didn't matter though, Buffy seemingly disappeared.

"How..? Where..?" Jonah couldn't comprehend howhe lost her.

"Jonah, listen to me." TJ tried again, but Jonah's eyes kept scanning his surroundings.

At this point, Cyrus was leaned up against a set of lockers, still fighting to get his breathing under control. "Do I... not... exist..?"

"Babe just wait." TJ statedblankly, causing Cyrus to tense up. He didn't yet understand the severity of the situation.

"I just-"

"I said not right now!" TJ snapped at Cyrus, giving him a glare.

Cyrus was taken aback by TJ's sudden outburst. It had been awhile since he's seen that side of him, but given the current situation, Cyrus understood and thought that it was most likely warranted.

At that point, a girl came around the corner of the hallway, causing Jonah's head to shoot up. It wasn't Buffy, but he still approached her.

"Hey Cindy, have you seen Buffy?" Jonah asked urgently.

"Uhhhh.... yeah. Why?" Cindy was completely confused.

"No time. Thanks though." Jonah was about to run off again, but before his legs could begin sprinting again, TJ wrapped his arm around Jonah's neck and held him back in a chokehold.

"Get the fuck off." Jonah kicked and elbowed TJ to try and break free from his hold, but to no avail. "TJ stop!"

"No you stop dude." TJ then whipped Jonah around, pinning him to the floor and getting on top of his back, straddling him with both of his legs.

"Guys stop!" Cyrus rushed over, trying to break them apart. All three boys were red in the face, with their sweat and tears all mixing together. After struggling around on the floor, the boys got up to catch their breaths once again. This time it was Jonah who collapsed against the lockers.

"I can't do this dude! I can't be here." Jonah cried through muffled sobs as he laid his head between his knees.

"Then let's go." TJ suggested, bold as ever.

"You mean skip?" Cyrus asked in shock.

"C'mon babe, I need you." TJ lowered his voice, "to help with him."Cyrus didn't answer, instead he swallowed deeply and nodded.

The two boys lifted Jonah up from off of the floor, consoling him, as they headed for one of the back doors.

••

The three boys were mostly silent as they walked off school property. Cyrus however, kept looking behind them, anticipating an angry teacher to come running out of the school yelling at them. Unlike Cyrus, neither TJ nor Jonah were thinking about the consequences they could face if they got caught. Each of them mentally preoccupied with their own concerns.

By the time they reached the town center, none of them had spoken up yet. They kept walking in silence, until Jonah took a seat on a nearby bench. TJ and Cyrus decided to sit on either side of him. After having enough of the obvious tension that was in the air, Cyrus finally piped up.

"Can someone please explain to me what's going on?" he begged, his eyes looking between the two other boys on the bench for acknowledgement.

"Well, Jonah?" TJ nudged his back for him to speak, but Jonah didn't answer. Instead he ran his fingers through his hair. Both boys eyed him with concern. After another minute of silence, Jonah pulled his phone out of his pocket. He was getting a call, and the Caller ID read, 'Marty from da Party.'

Jonah stood up, grumbling as he fumbled with his phone to decline the call, before slamming it down on the concrete. Both TJ and Cyrus shot up from the bench in pure disbelief.

"Jonah, your phone..." Cyrus squeaked.

"Yeah and?" Jonah turned to face Cyrus and scowled.

"I- I- just thought..."

"Listen up Beck, you leave him out of this. He did nothing to you." TJ said sternly as he tightly gripped Jonah's shoulder. Jonah sighed, sitting back down and leaning his head over the back of the bench. He placed both of his hands over his face and exhaled deeply.

While Jonah stewed in his own sadness, TJ guided Cyrus a little bit further down the sidewalk.

"What's going on Teej" Cyrus asked in a low voice.

After hesitating for a bit, a TJ said, "He kissed Buffy last night." Cyrus' jaw dropped in bewilderment.

"Bu- Buffy's dating- Oh..." Cyrus suddenly understood.

••

Now that Jonah's phone wouldn't even ring, Marty chose to text TJ:

—

**Mart: 9:13 AM**

Ik ur with jonah

Tell him to meet me at the park after school

—

Marty put his phone back in his pocket, and tried his hardest to pay attention to the class. But he was so overwhelmed with emotion, he couldn't think straight. On one hand he was beyond pissed at Jonah, but on the other hand he felt an unfamiliar feeling pain and sadness. Why would Buffy let such a thing happen in the first place? He knew that they weren't married or anything like that, yet he felt that they shared something truly special.

To make matters worse, Marty was unable to fall asleep the night prior, which added exhaustion to mix of emotion he was feeling. He wanted to just disappear. He wanted to have Buffy back. And most of all, he wanted to teach Jonah Beck a lesson.

"Marty?"

"Huh?" Marty immediately sat up at his desk, broken away from his thoughts.

"I asked if you could give the answer to number 15 on the homework. Were you even paying attention?" Mrs. Nancy crossed her arms as the entire class turned to face him.

"Uh- um- uh-" Marty frantically flipped through his packet to find the problem. "Uh- 238?"

"Huh, lucky guess." Mrs. Nancy scoffed. "Okay class..." and once again her voice faded out as Marty slumped back in his chair and flooded himself with his thoughts.

' _What was this feeling?_ ' Marty thought. He never felt this terrible, ever. ‘ _Was this true heartbreak?_ ’ He didn't feel like this when Rachel dumped him, and he thought he loved her. No, this was different. The pressure in his head, the knots in his stomach, the pain in his chest, and the rage building within. This was very different.

Before he knew it, the bell rang and all of his classmates shot up and headed for the door. Marty tried to do the same, but Mrs. Nancy came over to his desk.

"Hey Marty, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Uh- um yeah?" Marty gulped nervously.

"What's going on with you? You didn't pay attention to my class at all, and... well... quite honestly you look terrible." Mrs. Nancy said as she eyed the bags under his eyes.

"I- nothing." Marty cracked a fake smile, causing Mrs. Nancy to frown.

"Ugh, you're usually a good student Marty. It isn't like you to drift off in my class. Look if you won't tell me, at least talk to someone. It could make you feel better.”

"Will do." Marty nodded.

"Okay that's all I wanted to say, have a nice day, and please talk to someone. I cannot stress that enough.”

"You too, and thanks I will.” Marty replied as he gathered his stuff and headed for the exit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for my absence, life has been... well life. I hope all of you are doing well!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! Leave kudos pleaseeeee!! I’ve toyed around with this idea for a bit and couldn’t help but create this. I hope for the next part to be up soon. Much love yo <33333


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